UMASS/AMHERST 


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the  day  indicated   beloW 


DATE   DUE 

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PAlIPIILIilTn 
ON 


THE   COUTTTRY   CHURCH 


»    «    »    « 


Volume  3 


4  3o.3oa. 

G&  5 

V.  3 


Federal  oouncil  of  the  churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  What  every  church  should  know  about 
its  community. 

General  Association  of  Congregational  Churches 
of  Massachusetts,  Advance  reports  of  various 
committees,  1908  and  1909 

McElfresh,  F.  The  country  Sunday  school 

MclTutt,  M.  B.  Modern  methods  in  the  country  church 

McUutt ,  M^  B.  A  post-graduate  school  with  a  purpose 

Massachusetts  Federation  of  Churches «  Quarterly 
bulletin.  Facts  and  factors »  October  1910 
"The  part  of  the  church  in  rural  progress  as 
discussed  at  the  Amherst  Conference," 

Root,  E«  T.  State  federations 

Taf t ,  A.  B.  The  mistress  of  the  rural  manse 

Taf t ,  A.  B»  The  tent  mission 

Taylor,  G^  Basis  for  social  evangelism  with  rural 
applications 

Wells,  G.  F.  An  answer  to  the  ITew  England  country 
church  question. 

Wells,  G»  F.  V/hat  our  country  churches  need 

Wilson,  W.  H»  The  church  and  the  transient 

Wilson,  W.  H»  Conservation  of  boys 

Wilson,  W.  H.  The  country  church 

Wilson,  W»  H.  The  country  church  program 

Wilson,  W»  H.  Don*t  breathe  on  the  thermometer 

Wilson,  W»  H.  The  farmers*  church  and  the  farmers' 
^  college 

CO  Wilson,  W.  IT.  Getting  the  worker  to  church 


to 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  IVIember  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/tentmission03taft 


Wilson,  Wa  PI»  The  girl  on  the  farm 

Wilson  a  W.  II»  How  to  manage  a  country  life 
institute 

Wilson,  W.  11*  "Marrying  the  land." 

Wilson,  W.  U^  iTo  need  to  "be  i.^oor  in  the  country 

Wilson,  W*  H.  Synod's  opportunity 

Wilson,  W«  n»  What  limits  the  rural  Evangel 


9  4   9   'd  9  9 


The  church  and  country  life.  Pamphlet  issued 
hy  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presby^ 
terian  Church. 


Department  of  Church  and  Country  Life,  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.S.  A.,  156  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York. 


i  THE  j 

j  TENT  MISSION  j 

I   By       ANNA       B.       TAFTj 

A    <^Kt      t^m>      <^_>      ^Hu   ^^^.    /__«  ^^_>       <^n,      .,^_v     ** 


/^NE  of  the  most  interesting  forms  of 
^-^  rural  work  is  the  Tent  Mission.  This 
has  been  used  very  successfully  in  New  Eng- 
land to  reach  the  outlying  districts.  On  the 
far  margins  of  large  parishes  there  is  a  scat- 
tered population  that  often  presents  problem- 
atic conditions.  When  the  people  are  depleted 
in  fiber  as  well  as  numbers  these  are  breeding 
places  for  every  evil  known  to  isolation  and 
loneliness.  It  is  for  localities  such  as  these 
that  the  Tent  Mission  is  specially  designed 
and  adapted.  Distance  from  the  church  makes 
the  work  of  the  pastor  difficult;  sometimes  he 
ignores  this  portion  of  his  flock  who  persist- 
ently refuse  to  come  to  church,  and  are  not 
over  cordial  when  he  makes  his  infrequent 
calls. 

The  plan  of  the  Mission  is  simple.  As  soon 
as  it  is  warm  enough  to  warrant  camp  life 
the  tent  starts  out.  There  is  in  the  equip- 
ment a  large  tent  in  which  the  services  are 
held.     This   is   suitably   furnished   with   seats. 


folding  organ,  stand  for  a  desk,  hymn  books, 
good  lights  and  various  leaflet  literature.  An 
adequate  band  of  workers,  usually  three  or 
four,  go  with  the  Mission,  camping  near  the 
large  tent,  and  working  personally  among  the 
people,  as  well  as  conducting  the  services.  A 
tent  stand  is  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks,  and 
sometimes  eight  localities  are  visited  during 
a  summer. 

One  of  the  most  successful  tent  missions 
holds  two  services  daily.  The  afternoon  hour 
is  devoted  to  the  children,  when  a  carefully 
prepared  study  course  is  used,  much  on  the 
order  of  a  Sunday-school  outline.  Frequently 
the  boys  and  girls  attending  receive  their  first 
Biblical  instruction  in  this  class.  Many  times 
the  children  walk  a  mile  or  two  to  reach  the 
tent,  bringing  their  supper  with  them  and 
staying  over  for  the  evening  service.  Often 
parents  are  reached  through  the  interest  of 
the  children.  One  woman  frankly  said :  "I 
can't  keep  Dick  away  from  the  tent,  so  I  just 
dropped  in  to  see  what  it  is  like." 

The  evening  service  is  evangelistic  in  its 
simplest  sense.  There  is  no  "giving  of  testi- 
mony" on  the  part  of  the  audience.  Those 
who  have  become  interested  and  are  anxious 
to  take  some  definite  step  are  encouraged  to 
sign  a  card  containing  a  very  simple  declara- 
tion of  the  purpose  formed.  When  the  tent 
passes  on,  these  signed  cards  are  given  to  the 
minister  in  whose  field  the  mission  has  been 
located.  This  furnishes  a  useful  guide  in 
following  up  the  work. 

This  same  mission  used  with  gratifying  re- 
sults   a    stereopticon    three   or    four    evenings 


'liSji-J.^  '^Pjll^x   - 


during  each  stand.  The  pictures  were  care- 
fully selected  copies  of  masterpieces  illustrat- 
ing the  life  of  Christ.  These  were  given  with 
a  simple  talk,  following  closely  the  Scripture 
narrative,  and  by  the  time  the  course  was 
over  many  people  had  a  reasonably  clear  idea 
of  the  life  story  of  the  Master  who  before 
were  totally  ignorant. 

Sometimes  it  was  thought  wise  to  take  the 
tent  into  the  more  densely  populated  rural 
districts,  but  as  a  rule  this  did  not  prove  sat- 
isfactory, and  more  and  more  it  has  found  its 
largest  service  in  the  outlying  districts. 

One  energetic  and  successful  country  pastor 
started  a  Tent  Mission  of  his  own,  modeled 
after  the  larger  work  in  which  he  had  been 
greatly  interested.  He  was  serving  two 
churches  with  a  wide  territory  to  cover.  About 
three  miles  from  his  home  was  a  locality  where 
ten  or  a  dozen  families  lived,  few  of  whom  ever 
came  to  church.  There  was  an  attractive 
pine  grove  beside  the  road  on  the  outskirts 
of  this  little  settlement ;  this  he  selected  for 
a  camping  ground,  pitched  his  tent,  brought 
his  wife  and  two  children,  and  there  they 
spent  a  happy  and  profitable  week,  getting  in 
touch  with  an  almost  unknown  corner  of  their 
parish.  The  people  not  only  enjoyed  the  sim- 
ple meetings  held  every  evening,  but  they 
came  to  know  as  they  had  never  known  be- 
fore their  pastor  and  his  family,  and  their  at- 
titude toward  the  church  was  materially 
changed. 

During  the  summer  he  covered  nearly  every 
outlying  part  of  his  parish  in  this  way,  and 
the  season  ended  by  putting  the  same  tent  on 


the   church   lawn    and   using  it   for   a   fair,   a 
social  and  a  mid-week  meeting. 

The  greatest  danger  lies  in  failing  to  tie  up 
this  temporary  work  of  the  Tent  Mission  def- 
initely to  a  local  church.  Pastors  sometimes 
complain  that  the  people  who  have  become 
interested  at  the  mission  refuse  to  come  to 
church  and  are  no  more  interested  than  be- 
fore its  advent.  It  is  true  that  the  mission 
has  sometimes  made  the  mistake  of  entering 
a  field  with  merely  the  unwilling  consent  of 
the  pastor;  justifying  this  course  by  local 
needs  or  the  urgent  voice  of  the  people.  This 
has  without  exception  been  a  bad  thing ;  it 
fosters  rather  than  overcomes  feeling  against 
the  church,  and  makes  it  impossible  to  do  the 
very  work  for  which  the  mission  exists. 
Again,  a  minister  is  glad  to  get  some  work 
done  that  he  does  not  have  to  do  himself. 
He  willingly  allows  the  tent  entrance,  gives 
it  his  blessing  the  first  night  and  then  lets  it 
alone.  Failure  inevitably  follows  such  a 
course. 

Where  the  mission  has  lived  up  to  its  nor- 
mal possibilities  the  pastor  of  the  local  church 
has  heartily  co-operated.  Before  its  coming 
it  has  been  well  advertised,  its  purpose  and 
mission  explained,  and  the  field  carefully  can- 
vassed. The  pastor  has  attended  and  assisted 
at  the  meetings,  often  bringing  with  him  in- 
terested and  sympathetic  members  of  his 
church.  In  this  way  the  whole  spirit  of  the 
community  is  helped,  and  often  a  branch  Sun- 
day-school is  started  for  the  outlying  locality, 
and  the  miles  to  the  church  no  longer  prevent 
attendance  at  the  morning  service. 


vy¥JiS(i,>=-.l»'*'!".-- ' 


.  S' 


'«e*»*t.B«i-£i*se3s?^S!K:^: 


■1*1 


Eggifitgf 


Published  Four  Times  a  Year,  January,  March,  May,  and  November, 
by  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary 


Vol.  VII. 


JANUARY,  1914 


No.  2 


Evangelism 


^  &■  % 


n*%| 


C^A^4m^ 


lA^An' 


uhrT 


M 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  3i  March,  1908,  at  the  post-office  at  Chicago,  Illinois, 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  16  July,  1894 


CHICAGO 


20  North  Ashland  Boulevard 


ILLINOIS 


®ll? 


Published  Four  Times  a  Year,  January,  March,  May,  and  November, 
by  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary 


Vol.  VII. 


JANUARY,  1914 


No.  2 


Evangelism 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  31  March,  1908,  at  the  post-office  at  Chicago,  Illinois, 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  16  July,  1894 


CHICAGO 


20  North  Ashland  Boulevard 


ILLINOIS 


Evangelism  is  the  great  task  of  the  church  of  to-day — and 
of  any  day^,  in  fact.  Yet  there  is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  the  asser- 
tion now,  for  the  times  seem  tuned  to  the  harvest  song.  The 
mornings  of  sowing  and  the  evenings  of  hands  not  withheld,  as 
they  have  checked  off  the  lives  of  many  who  rest  from  their 
labors,  are  telling  us  that  others  have  labored  and  that  we  are 
about  to  enter  into  their  labor.  The  gospel  mission,  as  in  the 
days  of  Jesus,  is  for  those  who  can  lift  up  their  eyes,  and  look 
on  the  fields,  that  they  are  white  already  unto  harvest. 

•  This  little  book  is  the  contribution  of  a  group  of  co-work- 
ers toward  the  task  of  the  reaper.  In  its  growth  it  has  been 
interesting  to  note  with  what  earnestness,  not  to  sa}^  zest,  each 
writer  has  come  to  the  theme.  The  fact  shows  how  central 
evangelism  is  to  the  whole  range  of  theological  inquiry,  and 
also  how  practical  are  the  standard  courses  in  a  seminary 
curriculum. 

We  hope  that  the  reader  may  find  the  hour  spent  in  the 
perusal  of  these  pages  to  be  profitable  on  three  counts,  namely, 
a  deepening  of  the  conviction  that  evangelism  should  be  the  su- 
preme endeavor  of  the  Christian  minister;  a  broadened  sense 
of  what  evangelism  means  and  of  its  relation  to  every  phase  of 
the  minister's  work,  and  finally  a  quickened  determination  to 
work  the  works  of  him  that  sent  Jesus,  while  it  is  day. 

The  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work. 


THE    EEGISTER  3 

THE  EVANGELISM  OF  THE  PEOPHETS. 
Frederic  B.  Oxtoby. 

The  prophets  were  preeminently  preachers.  They  spoke 
their  message  not  in  solitude,  but  to  groups  of  people,  to  au- 
diences interested  in  their  words,  however  hostile  they  might  be 
to  their  message.  Their  voices  were  heard  in  the  great  cities, 
at  Bethel,  at  Samaria,  "at  Jerusalem,  before  the  crowds  assem- 
bled at  the  temple  feasts,  at  the  great  fairs,  and  at  the  city 
gates.  Practical  men  they  were,  speaking  to  the  need  of  Israel, 
knowing  its  sin,  and  also  its  possibilities  for  good.  Courageous 
souls  they  were,  fearlessly  making  known  God's  will,  and  urging 
their  hearers  to  be  obedient  to  that  will.  They  were  full  of 
power  by  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah,  and  of  judgment,  and  of  might, 
to  declare  unto  Jacob  his  transgression  and  unto  Israel  his  sin. 
The  Spirit  gave  them  enthusiasm  for  their  mission,  courage  for 
their  task,  a  message  for  their  time. 

The  prophets  recognized  clearly  and  felt  deeply  the  sin- 
fulness of  sin,  and  in  their  condemnation  of  it  they  were  un- 
sparing. In  no  uncertain  language  they  rebuked  sin.  "Ye  kine 
of  Bashan,  that  are  in  the  mountain  of  Samaria,  that  oppress 
the  poor,  that  crush  the  needy — Ye  that  would  swallow  up  the 
needy,  and  cause  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail,  saying,  when  will 
the  new  moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  grain?  and  the  Sab- 
bath, that  we  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah  small,  and 
the  shekel  great,  and  dealing  falsely  with  balances  of  deceit ; 
that  we  may  buy  the  poor  for  silver,  and  the  needy  for  a  pair 
of  shoes,  and  sell  the  refuse  of  the  wheat? — They  know  not  to 
do  right,  saith  Jehovah,  who  store  up  violence  and  robbeijy  in 
their  palaces — Woe  to  them  that  devise  iniquity  and  work  evil 
upon  their  beds !  when  the  morning  is  light,  they  practice  it, 
because  it  is  in  the  power  of  their  hand — Ye  who  hate  the  good, 
and  love  the  evil;  who  also  eat  the  iiesh  of  my  people,  and  flay 
their  skin  from  off  them,  and  break  their  bones,  and  chop  them 
in  pieces,  as  for  the  pot,  and  as  flesh  within  the  cauldron^ — They 
build  up  Zion  with  blood,  and  Jerusalem  with  iniquity.  The 
heads  thereof  judge  for  reward,  and  the  priests  thereof  teach  for 
hire,  and  the  prophets  thereof  divine  for  money;  yet  they  lean 
upon  Jehovah,  and  say.  Is  not  Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  us?  no 
evil  shall  come  upon  us — They  all  lie  in  wait  for  blood;  the} 
hunt  every  man  his  brother  with  a  net.  Their  hands  are  upon 
that  which  is  evil  to  do  it  diligently ;  the  prince  asketh,  and  the 
judge  is  ready  for  a  reward;  and  the  great  man,  he  uttereth 
the  evil  desire  of  his  soul;  thus  thev  weave  it  together— Her 


4  THE    EEGISTER 

princes  in  tlie  midst  of  her  are  roaring  lions;  her  judges  are 
evening  wolves;  they  leave  nothing  till  the  morrow.  Her  proph- 
ets are  light  and  treacherous  persons ;  her  priests  have  pro- 
faned the  sanctuary^  they  have  done  violence  to  the  law." 

The  prophets  did  more  than  denounce  sin,  and  speak  against 
the  social  and  religious  evils  of  their- day.  They  had  also  a 
positive  message.  They  emphasized  the  need  of  deep,  sincere 
repentance,  and  spoke  of  God^s  willingness  to  forgive.  With 
their  knowledge  of  God's  nature  and  character  they  asked  for 
a  right  attitude  toward  God,  and  for  right  relations  between 
man  and  man.  "Wash  you,  make  you  clean;  put  away  the  evil 
of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to 
do  well ;  seek  justice,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless, 
plead  for  the  widow — Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall 
be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall 
be  as  wool^ — He  will  tread  our  iniquities  under  foot ;  and  thou 
wilt  cast  all  their  sins  into  the  depths  of  the  sea — Sow  to  your- 
selves in  righteousness,  reap  according  to  kindness ;  break  up 
your  fallow  ground;  for  it  is  time  to  seek  Jehovah,  till  he  come 
and  rain  righteousness  upon  you — I  desire  goodness  and  not 
sacrifice,  and  the  knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt-offerings — 
Let  justice  roll  down  as  waters,  and  righteousness  as  an  ever- 
flowing  stream — He  hath  showed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good, 
and  what  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and 
to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God.'' 

The  prophets  were  idealists.  Their  visions  were  of  a  new 
Israel  in  a  new  age  when  there  would  be  no  more  sin.  Look- 
ing forward  to  the  future  they  sought  to  usher  in  an  era  of 
righteousness  and  holiness,  peace  and  brotherly  love,  when  each 
man  would  love  Jehovah  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his 
soul,  and  with  al]  his  might,  and  Jehovah  would  be  Israel's 
God,  and'  Israel  His  people.  Prophecy  after  prophecy  is  filled 
with  the  hope  of  the  establishment  of  God's  kingdom  upon  earth, 
an  ideal  society  ruled  by  an  ideal  King.  "They  shall  beat  their 
swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks ; 
nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they 
learn  war  any  more — But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his 
vine  and  under  his  fig-tree ;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid — 
The  remnant  of  Israel  shall  not  do  iniquity,  nor  speak  lies, 
neither  shall  a  deceitful  tongue  be  found  in  their  mouth — Jeru- 
salem shall  be  called  the  city  of  truth — And  the  name  of  the 
city  from  that  day  shall  be,  Jehovah  is  there — And  the  govern- 
ment shall  be  upon  his  shoulder:  and  his  name  shall  be  called 
Wonderful  Counsellor,  Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father,  Prince 


THE    EEGISTER  5 

of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  of  peace  there 
shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  king- 
dom, to  establish  it,  and  to  uphold  it  with  Justice  and  with 
righteousness,  from  henceforth  even  for  ever — And  the  Spirit  of 
Jehovah  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  under- 
standing, the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge 
and  of  the  fear  of  Jehovah.  And  his  delight  shall  be  in  the  fear  of 
Jehovah — With  righteousness  shall  be  judge  the  poor,  and  decide 
with  equity  for  the  meek  of  the  earth — Righteousness  shall  be 
the  girdle  of  his  waist,  and  faithfulness  the  girdle  of  his  loins — 
The  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.'^ 

The  prophets  were  indeed  evangelists,  bearers  of  good  news, 
as  they  declared  from  age  to  age  God's  purpose  and  announced 
the  glad  tidings  of  His  power  to  save.  "How  beautiful  upon 
the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings, 
that  publisheth  peace,  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that 
publisheth  salvation,  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth !" 
The  evangelism  of  the  prophets  was  a  preparation  for  the  Good 
News  of  a  later  time  when  God  sent  His  Son  to  reveal  more 
fully  His  character.  The  Christ  was  the  greatest  of  the  prophets 
as  He  preached  good  tidings  to  the  poor,  proclaimed  release  to 
the  captives,  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind, .  and  the  setting 
.at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised.  He  came  not  to  destroy  the 
law  or  the  prophets,  but  to  fulfill. 


6  THE    EEGISTEE 

THE  EVANGELISM  OF  JESUS  AND  PAUL. 
Benjamin  W.  Robinson. 

Suggestion  is  stronger  than  statement.  Stirring  a  man's 
sympathies  by  a  simple  story  will  save  his  soul  more  surely 
than  straightening  out  his  system.  Hence  in  telling  the  "good 
news"  we  turn  instinctively  to  the  parables  and  metaphors  of 
Jesus.  Perhaps  we  do  not  always  realize  how  completely  Jesus 
covers  the  range  of  a  man's  or  a  woman's  experience  in  those 
parables.  If  we  take  Jesus  as  our  guide  we  shall  find  the  way 
to  a  man's  heart  by  searching  out  a  mother's  anxiety,  a  father's 
love,  all  those  hidden  and  unsullied  depths  of  experience  which 
are  never  polluted  by  the  passing  storms  of  life.  The  birth  of 
a  child  never  becomes  common.  "Ye  must  be  born  again," 
said  the  Master.  No  man  or  woman  ever  gets  beyond  the  soften- 
ing influence  of  a  little  child  such  as  Jesus  used  for  an  example. 
Who  can  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  description  of  a  wedding  day 
or  a  bridegroom's  joy  ?  All  the  vital  issues  of  family  or  business 
Jesus  uses  in  the  same  way,  as  suggestive  of  higher  truths,  even 
down  to  the  very  end,  to  death  itself:  "Whosoever  loseth  his 
life,  shall  find  it." 

But  Paul  also,  like  his  Leader,  told  the  good  news  by  sug- 
gestion and  story.  We  have  buried  his  pictures  in  our  system 
of  Pauline  theology.  Nevertheless  they  are  there.  A  little 
digging  uncovers  them. 

Paul  was  a  man  of  the  big  city.  His  illustrations  were 
from  the  athletic  contest,  the  court  room,  the  slave  life  of  the 
factory  or  the  business  house.  But  they  are  illustrations,  never- 
theless, and  should  not  be  robbed  of  their  original  vital  appeal. 
The  athletic  contest  is  still  familiar.  Few  of  us,  however,  know 
the  judge  or  the  prison  wall  as  intimately  as  Paul  knew  them. 

Paul  would  put  his  hand  on  your  shoulder  and  ask :  Were 
you  ever  arrested?  Perhaps  you  were  a  guilty  man.  Do  you 
remember  how  you  trembled  at  the  thought  of  meeting  the  judge 
face  to  face?  It  was  a  long  hard  trial.  Finally  the  verdict 
was  ready.  You  took  your  place  to  hear  your  fate.  According 
to  the  law  of  Rome  your  ofl^ense  might  be  punishable  by  death. 
As  the  judge  prepared  to  speak  you  were  calling  yourself  a 
miserable  criminal.  Then  you  heard  the  words  "not  guilty." 
You  walked  out  of  the  room  a  free  man ! 

If  you  have  been  through  such  an  ordeal,  says  Paul,  and 
such  an  inexpressible  joy  of  freedom  you  can  form  some  idea 
of  what  Jesus  has  meant  to  me.   From  Him  I  heard  those  words 


THE    EEGMSTER  7 

of  the  Great  Judge  "not  guilty."  I  was  no  longer  in  the  power 
of  the  law  which  I  had  broken.    My  whole  soul  awoke  within  me. 

How  could  I  have  been  justified  when  in  fact  I  was  guilty  ? 
How  could  a  righteous  God  justify  me?  Here  we  must  drop 
the  figure  of  the  court  room.  That  story  had  only  one  purpose, 
the  portrayal  of  the  Christian's  joy.  God's  righteousness  is  dif- 
ferent from  man's.  As  you  plainly  see,  there  has  been  revealed, 
quite  apart  from  legal  scruples,  a  righteousness  of  God  whereby 
it  is  possible  for  God  to  freely  pronounce  guiltless  those  who 
come  to  Him  in  the  right  spirit.  For  all  have  sinned  and  come 
short  of  the  legal  standard  of  righteousness.  It  is  for  the  mani- 
festation of  the  real  nature  of  His  righteousness  that  God  sent 
forth  His  Son  into  the  world,  to  show  just  at  this  time  that 
righteous  justice  of  God  whereby  He  can  be  just  Himself  and 
can  at  the  same  time  justify  any  man  who  has  a  right  spirit 
of  faithful  service  such  as  Christ  had. 

But  perhaps  you  have  never  been  put  on  trial  for  your 
life.  Let  us  take  a  different  parable.  Have  you  "fallen  out" 
with  your  best  friend?  He  used  to  be  all  the  world  to  you. 
Then  came  that  misunderstanding.  Though  it  caused  such 
anguish  of  heart  the  break  became  deeper  and  deeper.  After 
long  years  of  pain  you  were  reconciled,  you  were  on  good  terms 
again.  Do  you  remember  the  rush  of  gladness,  the  peace  of 
mind,  the  exaltation  of  soul?  You  had  regained  your  beloved. 
Never  again  would  the  world  lose  aught  of  its  brightness,  its 
lustre.  The  joy  of  living  came  back  to  you  with  redoubled 
force.  You  felt  as  though  the  break  and  the  period  of  strained 
relationship  had  made  the  bond  of  mutual  loyalty  ten  fold  closer 
than  before. 

If  you  have  had  such  an  experience  you  understand  how 
I  felt  when,  through  the  kind  mediation  of  Jesus,  I  was  recon- 
ciled to  my  God,  to  the  greatest  Friend  I  ever  had.  The  recon- 
cilation  brought  a  joy  which  I  should  never  have  known  had 
it  not  been  for  that  time  of  misunderstanding  and  coldness.  I 
have  heard  men  who  were  once  slaves  say  that  no  one  really 
appreciates  freedom  unless  he  has  previously  been  a  slave.  So 
no  one  knows  the  peace  of  reconciliation  save  he  who  has  sinned 
and  been  estranged  from  God.  Even  the  angels  who  have  never 
sinned  know  it  not  as  I  know  it. 

I  have  a  joy  unknown  in  heaven, 
The  new-born  peace  of  sin  forgiven! 
Tears  of  such  pure  and  deep  delight. 
Ye  angels,  never  dimmed  your  sight. 


8  THE    REGISTER 

Ye  saw  of  old  on  chaos  rise 

The  beauteous  pillars  of  the  skies ; 

Ye  know  where  morn  exulting  springs. 

And  evening  folds  her  drooping  wings. 

But  I,  amid  your  choirs,  shall  shinC;, 
And  all  your  knowledge  shall  be  mine; 
Ye  on  your  harps  must  lean  to  hear 
A  secret  chord  that  mine  will  bear. 

Justification  and  reconciliation  have  become  the  greatest 
doctrines  of  what  we  call  "Pauline  Theology."  But  let  us 
not  forget  the  simple,  searching  stories  which  appealed  so 
strongly  in  their  first  freshness  and  vividness.  Let  us  call 
them  back  to  life  and  usefulness.  For  Paul  was  the  greatest 
evangelist  the  world  has  known.  He  painted  pictures  like  these 
from  every  great  event  of  life.  He  painted  the  birth  of  an  in- 
fant, a  perfect  child;  he  described  the  liberation  of  a  slave;  he 
told  of  a  ionic  that  is  better  than  wine;  he  portrayed  a  love 
that  is  more  exalting  than  the  love  of  man  and  woman;  he 
described  a  death  with  Christ  which  meant  a  resurrection. 

You  live  in  a  big  city.  Years  ago  you  had  a  rich  relative. 
But  you  yourself  were  obliged  to  work  long  hours  for  no  pay. 
You  had  been  passed  on  by  a  former  master  in  his  will  to  your 
present  lord.  One  day  the  rich  person  died.  By  his  will  you 
inherited  the  price  of  your  freedom  and  a  reward  out  of  all 
proportion  to  your  services.  Do  you  remember  how  you  felt 
on  that  day  ?  Then  you  know  the  difference  between  the  former 
will  and  testament  and  the  new  one ! 


THE    EEGISTEE  9 

THE  EVANGELICAL   SUCCESSION. 
Henry  Hammersley  Walker. 

Two  books  have  recently  been  in  my  hands  which  are  well 
worth  the  reading,  both  by  the  spiritually  discouraged,  who 
view  with  alarm  certain  drifts  in  our  age  away  from  the  moral 
and  religious  moorings  of  the  past,  and  by  the  spiritually  op- 
timistic who  read  in  the  deeper  yearnings  of  today  the  promise 
of  an  earl}^  awakening  of  spiritual  life  and  power.  One  of  these 
books,  "Revivals,  Their  Laws  and  Leaders,^^  by  James  Burns, 
throws  upon  the  canvas  the  portraits  of  six  notable  leaders  in 
Christian  history,  beginning  with  Francis  of  Assisi  and  includ- 
ing the  names  of  Savonarola,  Luther,  Calvin,  Knox  and  Wesley. 
All  of  these  men  belong  to  the  evangelical  succession.  In  their 
own  souls  the  eternal  Gospel  experienced  rebirth.  Each  lighted 
his  torch  at  the  flame  of  Christ's  deathless  passion  for  men. 
They  represent  four  different  centuries,  the  13th,  15th,  16th, 
and  18th,  and  Ave  different  lands,  Italy,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
Scotland,  England.  The  circumstances  of  their  age  and  environ- 
ment were  widely  different.  Their  early  life,  the  movement  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  calling  them  to  service,  the  story  of  their 
labors,  problems,  achievements,— all  these  are  vastly  different 
the  one  from  the  other.  Yet  back  of  all  the  differences,  the 
infinite  variety  of  personality  and  of  historical  setting,  certain 
common  factors  in  the  picture  impress  themselves  upon  us. 
One  of  them  is  this,  that  every  one  of  these  masters  of  the 
spiritual  life  sprang  into  being  out  of  the  subsoil  of  a  human 
need  of  moral  and  spiritual  rejuvenation. 

St.  Francis  of  Assisi  lived  in  such  a  time  as  this.  The  12th 
century,  which  marked  his  birth  was  one  of  turmoil.  The  old 
realities  were  growing  dim:  the  old  verities  were  slipping  away. 
Religion  was  under  a  cloud.  The  Church  was  under  suspicion. 
The  machinery  was  there,  more  indeed  than  ever  before,  but  the 
Spirit  had  departed  from  the  wheels.  On  every  side  sects  were 
springing  up,  each  trying  in  its  own  crude  way  to  voice  the 
deep  cry  of  the  human  heart  for  God.  Then  Francis  came,  in- 
carnating the  spirit  of  his  age,  borne  forward  in  the  swirling 
tide  of  its  emotions :  in  his  chivalric  self-devotion  to  Lady 
Poverty  dedicating  its  romanticism  to  the  service  of  the  faith. 
He  stood  for  reality  and  simplicity  in  life  and  religion.  He 
cared  nothing  for  forms  and  rituals.  He  sought  to  lift  the 
hearts  of  men  above  the  frivolities  of  life,  its  passion  for  pos- 
session, its  pursuit  of  pleasure,  its  easy  satisfaction  with  the 


10  THE    REGISTER 

ritual  of  worship.  He  had  caught  a  vision  of  Jesus,  having 
"not  where  to  lay  His  head,"  friend  of  the  sick  and  out-cast. 
The  passion  of  his  soul  was  to  follow  his  Master  and  to  help 
others  find  the  same  path.  Who  can  wonder  that  the  age  re- 
sponded to  his  evangel?  Above  the  noises  of  the  world  we 
hear  the  tramp  of  thousands  of  eager  feet  marching  over  the 
world,  carrying  the  simple  gospel  of  a  re-discovered  Christ. 
He  failed,  you  say !  Yes !  But  he  left  the  world  a  different 
world.  He  had  brought  a  breath  of  life  into  the  stagnant  at- 
mosphere of  his  age.  On  the  wings  of  his  spirit  arose. a  new 
art,  a  new  sculpture,  a  new  literature,  yes,  and  a  new  religion, 
a  more  human  religion,  nearer  the  heart  of  man,  and  so  nearer 
the  thought  of  God.  The  passionate  longing  of  a  generation  had 
found  its  answer,  and  that  answer  was  St.  Francis  of  Assisi. 

It  is  the  fifteenth  century,  and  again  that  which  most  im- 
presses us  is  its  need.  In  a  sense  that  is  untrue :  for  it  was  an  age 
of  surfeit.  The  Florence  of  the  Medicis  was  the  wonder  of  Italy, 
and  to  our  own  day  the  remains  of  its  art  are  among  the 
treasures  of  the  world.  There  was  lavish  wealth  and  display. 
Art  and  Architecture  and  Literature  flourished  under  the  lavish 
munificence  of  princes.  Yet  there  was  the  death^s  head  peering 
out  from  the  back-ground  of  the  picture !  For  power  had  been 
purchased  at  the  price  of  freedom,  and  the  culture  of  the  age 
was  but  a  delicately  quilted  fabric,  covering  its  deformities,  its 
hypocrisies,  its  immoralities.  It  is  an  age  of  social  decay  and 
spiritual  corruption.  Never  in  her  history  has  the  Church  fallen 
lower  than  in  the  fifteenth  century.  She  has  doffed  even  the  pre- 
tense of  piety.  Her  popes  are  not  only  privately  corrupt,  but 
publicly  vicious,  scandalizing  Europe  with  their  luxury,  avarice 
and  crime.  Again  the  voice  of  the  Prophet  is  heard,  Savonarola, 
gathering  into  himself  the  mutterings  of  an  outraged  Christian 
consciousness,  hurling  defiance  into  the  teeth  of  prince  and  pope, 
awakening  the  conscience,  galvanizing  religion  into  action, 
sounding  the  clarion  call  to  reality  in  faith.  He  too  was  num- 
bered among  the  Martj^rs.  But  not  until  he  had  set  the  world 
to  thinking,  and  had  awakened  smouldering  fires  destined  soon  to 
burst  into  flame  in  the  consuming,  purifying  fires  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  evangelical  awakening  of  the  18th  century  had  a  like 
genesis.  It  was  "a  century  of  exhaustion,  of  a  listless  faith,  of 
low  ideals, — a  miniature  Dark  Age  in  the  history  of  modern 
civilization."  Whatever  else  Deism  did,  or  contributed  to  in- 
tellectual progress,  the  rationalistic  movement  had  left  the 
Church  in  a  condition  of  spiritual  decay  and  death.    Faith  had 


THE    REGISTER  11 

been  robbed  of  her  pinions.  What  Wesley  sought  to  do  for  the 
eighteenth  century  was  not  to  do  battle  with  the  Church,  nor  de- 
throne her  doctrines  and  ritual,  but  rather  to  pour  new  streams 
of  life  and  energy  into  her  veins,  by  renewing  connection  with 
the  divine  reservoirs  of  life.  What  Wesley  sought  to  do,  that 
he  accomplished,  not  as  he  had  planned,  to  be  sure,  but  none  the 
less  effectively,  in  the  inspiration  of  movements  which  still  throb 
with  spiritual  energy. 

I  said  there  were  two  books.  The  other  was  Beardslev's 
"History  of  American  Revivals."  In  it  the  author  follows  the 
drift  of  those  mighty  spiritual  currents  which  have  coursed 
through  our  American  life,  the  ebb  and  flow  of  faith  in  the 
endless  conflict  with  the  spirit  of  the  world.  Here  too  the  same 
facts  meet  us.  The  religious  decay  of  the  second  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  is  followed  by  the  "Great  Awakening"  of  the 
eighteenth,  inscribing  the  name  of  Jonathan  Edwards  among  the 
Immortals  of  the  "Evangelical  Succession,"  quickening  the 
Church  with  revived  interest  in  Missions,  and  Education,  and 
fanning  into  a  flame  the  fires  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Nor 
did  the  evangelical  awakenings  of  the  nineteenth  century  differ 
in  this  respect  from  those  which  preceded  them.  Finney,  win- 
ning more  men  to  the  discipleship  of  his  Master  than  any  other 
man  in  the  century,  and  Moody,  recalling  the  Church  to  a  lost 
emphasis  by  his  message  of  the  Love  of  God,  these  and  lesser 
lights  in  the  evangelical  firmament  were  called  into  being  to 
meet  the  deeper  needs  of  an  age  hungering  for  God. 

Nor  may  the  evangelical  succession  be  bounded  thus  by  the 
thirteenth  and  the  nineteenth  centuries.  The  Church  has  never 
been  wholly  robbed  of  her  evangel.  An  Ignatius,  an  Athanasius, 
an  Augustine,  a  Columba,  a  Boniface,  an  Anselm,  a  Wyclif, 
these  and  many  others  remind  us  how  few  the  times  have  been 
in  which  the  profound  religious  need  has  not  found  abundant 
satisfaction  in  the  power  of  a  living  gospel.  The  religious  sea 
has  many  a  trough.  But  for  every  trough  there  is  a  crest.  The 
waves  of  religious  interest  appear  to  chase  one  another  aim- 
lessly across  the  sands  of  history.  Yet  all  the  time  the  tides 
of  truth  and  moral  apprehension  and  spiritual  purpose  rise 
higher,  impelled  by  timeless  forces  resident  in  the  great  deep 
of  God's  heart.  "God  takes  His  workers,  but  carries  on  His 
work." 


12  THE    EEGISTER     ' 

PSYCHOLOGY   AND   EVANGELISM. 
C.  A.  Beckwith. 

Psychology  is  not  a  new  thing  as  applied  to  evangelism. 
All  successful  evangelists  have  been  past  masters  in  the  psy- 
chological method  of  appealing  to  men  and  winning  converts. 
Some,  as  Whitefield  and  Moody,  have  a  natural  insight  into  the 
workings  of  the  human  heart.  Others,  as  Jonathan  Edwards, 
are  reflective  students  and  bring  their  knowledge  to  bear  on 
the  most  specific,  difficult,  and  unusual  conditions.  Whether 
or  not  Mr.  Moody  ever  had  a  formal  acquaintance  with  psy- 
chology, no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  to  find  and  describe 
the  stages  of  sin  and  consciousness  of  conversion.  He  knew 
the  heart,  its  motives,  its  weaknesses,  its  longings,  its  defeats, 
and  he  knew  how  to  touch  its  secret  springs  all  the  way  from 
laughter  to  tears  and  from  sin  to  the  consciousness  of  forgive- 
ness. No  more  satisfying  material  is  available  for  one  who 
wishes  to  study  the  relation  of  psychology  to  evangelism  than 
is  provided  in  Mr.  Moody's  sermons,  as  for  example,  those  on 
Lot  and  Zacchaeus.  In  Jonathan  Edwards'  "Treatise  concern- 
ing Religious  Affections,"  one  finds  an  almost  perfect  touch- 
stone for  the  tests  of  true  conversion.  No  one  else  has  ever 
written  so  thoroughly  or  with  such  subtle  insight  as  he  in 
his  investigation  and  description  of  the  various  types  of  Chris- 
tian experience. 

By  "Evangelism"  in  this  paper  I  mean  that  form  of  Chris- 
tian activity  which  seeks  to  make  the  gospel  effective  in  human 
life,  especially  in  the  initial  stages  of  renewal.  It  may  then 
assume  three  forms :  ( 1 )  Endeavor  after  social  renovation, 
aiming  at  a  gradual  change  of  existing  social  conditions  or  an 
immediate  application  of  Christian  agencies  to  human  need; 
(2)  Steady,  prolonged,  and  continuous  effort  to  persuade 
men  to  become  Christians;  (3)  Definite,  organized,  and  peri- 
odic attempts  for  the  immediate  conversion  of  men.  In  what 
follows  I  refer  particularly  to  (2)  and  (3). 

If  psychology  is  not  wholly  new  in  respect  to  evangelism, 
it  is  new  so  far  as  it  is  now  self-conscious  and  scientific.  In 
looking  around  for  opportunities  to  apply  its  interpretative  sug- 
gestions, it  has  found  in  evangelism  a  promising  field.  On  the 
other  hand,  evangelism,  in  inquiring  how  it  may  most  effectually 
reach  the  individual  and  the  community,  has  turned  to  psy- 
chology'for  its  aid. 

In  this  paper  only  three  aspects  of  our  subject  are  pre- 


THE    REGISTEE  13 

sented — its  bearing  on  sin^  on  the  conditions  of  evangelism  in 
the  crowd  and  the  individual^  and  on  conversion. 


Psychology  is  of  help  in  evangelism  in  the  light  which  it 
throws  on  the  nature  of  sin. "  It  enables  one  to  trace  the  genesis 
of  sin  in  the  individual  and  in  the  race,  and  thus  to  ascertain 
the  present  moral  condition  of  the  sinner.  Psychology  has  dis- 
cerned the  truth  in  "original  righteousness,"  "original  sin," 
"depravity,"  and  "moral  inability."  It  helps  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  "flesh"  and  its  relation  to  the  "spirit" ;  it 
interprets  the  conflict  which  arises  between  these,  and  the  nature 
of  the  responsibility  which  is  connected  with  the  surrender  of 
the  "spirit"  to  the  "flesh."  It  reveals  the  part  played  by  social 
heredity  in  the  formation  of  individual  character.  It  shows  how 
impulse,  instinct,  and  desire  are  related  to  choice.  It  takes  sin 
out  of  the  field  of  theology  and  plants  it  in  the  field  of  expe- 
rience. In  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scriptures,  in  the  terms 
which  are  translated  by  "sin,"  it  rediscovers  the  deep  and  per- 
manent meaning  which  experience  has  stamped  upon  it — missing 
the  mark,  error,  folly,  emptiness,  wickedness,  violence,  rebellion, 
wrong,  transgression,  lawlessness.  Psychology  shows  further 
that  sin  is — si7}s,  concrete  deeds  as  well  as  a  spirit  of  life,  acts 
as  well  as  habits.  It  makes  it  clear  also  that  sinful  actions 
are  not  always  perfeetlv  bad,  that  many  actions  are  done 
from  mixed  motives,  ond  that  there  is  at  times  a  heart  of  good 
in  things  evil.  Moreover,  it  helps  us  to  see  that  the  conscious- 
ness of  sin  is  sometimes  a  feelins^  of  unrest,  due  to  the  sense  of 
defeat  or  imperfection,  of  social  disharmony,  of  divine  disap- 
proval; at  other  times  sin  gathers  up  into  itself  the  piercing 
cry,  "Against  Thee,  Thee  only  have  I  sinned." 

II 

Psych ologv  is  of  value  in  its  description  of  the  conditions 
which  lead  up  to  effective  conversion.  These  center  in  the  crowd 
and  in  the  individual.  Eecently  the  "crowd"  has  been  sub- 
jected to  a  thorough-going  analysis ;  its  fundamental  notion 
has  been  defined,  its  mental  characteristics  described,  and  the 
laws  upon  which  its  suggestibility  is  conditioned  have  been  for- 
mulated. It  is  evident,  for  example,  that  a  revival  is  a  form 
of  impulsive  social  action  and  as  such  conforms  to  the  law  (1) 
of  the  origin  of  emotional  states  socially  initiated,  (2)  of 
spread  thruugh  imitation  and  geometrical  progression,  and  (3) 
of  restraint  or   diminution   aiid   final   subsidence.     In   such   a 


14  THE    EEGISTEE 

crowd,  the  reflective  or  critical  faculty  gives  place  to  the  re- 
ceptive, there  is  a  tendency  to  suggestibility  and  contagion, 
and  to  do  things  which  if  the  individuals  were  alone  and  apart 
from  the  crowd  no  one  of  them  would  do.  Psychology  shows 
why  the  evangelistic  appeal  is  through  familiar  beliefs  and 
convictions,  why  its  formulas  are  also  familiar  with  little  use 
of  reasoned  exposition,  how  it  gives  rise  to  unconscious  illusions, 
what  part  fear  plays  in  the  emotional  awakening,  why  the  leader- 
ship is  important,  and  what  the  forces  are  which  determine 
social  evangelism^  as  imagination,  customary  beliefs,  emotion, 
mental  contagion  and  suggestibility,  and  the  personal  influence 
of  the  evangelist.  Through  psychology  also  we  are  aware  of  the 
value  of  the  concomitants  of  evangelism,  such  as  the  preparations 
for  the  meetings,  the  place  of  assembly,  the  opening  services,  pre- 
disposing personal  conditions,  the  prestige  of  the  evangelist,  and 
the  general  assumptions  on  which  the  meetings  are  conducted. 
The  meanings  of  every  one  of  the  foregoing  facts  and  conditions 
have  been  more  or  less  understood  through  all  the  history  of 
the  Church,  and  evangelists  have  observed  many  of  the  require- 
ments referred  to,  but  not  until  a  comparatively  recent  period 
have  we  been  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  specific  mental  bear- 
ing of  all  this,  and  adapt  ourselves  to  it  in  evangelism. 

Ill 

Psychology  has  helped  us  to  a  truer  interpretation  of  the 
nature  of  conversion.  An  experience  which  often  appeared  ut- 
terly mysterious  or  was  referred  exclusively  to  the  will  or  power 
of  Grod,  is  now  seen  to  be  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  if  not  en- 
tirely, explicable  by  known  psychological  processes.  In  this 
way  several  troublesome  matters  have  been  more  or  less  cleared 

1.  Conversion  has  been  studied  inductively,  with  a  view 
to  ascertain  what  could  be  known  about  it  as  a  human  expe- 
rience. For  the  time  being  the  divine  causal  action  was  ignored 
and  attention  fixed  on  the  human  conditions  and  processes  in 
which  it  takes  place.  Professors  Starbuck  and  Coe  were  pioneers 
in  this  field,  while  to  Professor  William  James  is  due  our  chief 
debt. 

2.  Discoveries  made  in  the  field  of  the  sub-consciousness 
are  found  of  the  highest  significance  in  elucidating  the  expe- 
rience of  conversion.  Facts  of  the  sub-conscious  life  derived 
from  hypnotic  and  hysteric  patients  have  provided  material  for 
?iCCOunting   for   many   hitherto   mysterious   phenomena   of   re-  . 


THE    REGISTER  15 

ligious  conversion.    We  now  know  what  kind  of  persons  are  the 
most  likely  subjects  of  an  explosive  form  of  this  experience. 

3.  Sudden  and  violent  conversions  have  been  brought 
within  the  law  of  the  human  consciousness.  Similar  phenomena 
in  the  religious  experience  of  the  devotees  of  other  religions 
have  been  studied  and  their  results  used  to  light  up  Christian 
conversion.  Experiences  also  outside  of  the  religious  field  ex- 
plain the  sudden  emergence  of  emotional  excitement  in  which 
in  an  instant  the  interest  shifts  and  sets  up  a  new  and  dominant 
direction  of  personal  forces. 

4.  Psychology  has  shown  that  there  are  two  main  types  of 
conversion — the  volitional  and  the  self-surrender — and  we  un- 
derstand now  what  it  is  in  the  consciousness  of  each  individual 
which  predisposes  him  to  one  or  other  of  these  forms  of  expe- 
rience. We  now  know  why  some  conversions  are  the  culmination 
of  long  striving  for  a  better  self,  for  higher  ideals,  for  self- 
control  in  unity  of  will,  for  union  with  Grod,  and  we  know 
why  others  are  inwardly  changed  the  very  moment  they  leave 
off  effort  and  relax,  so  that  what  they  could  not  attain  by  the 
most  strenuous  endeavor  becomes  their  sudden  possession.  We 
know  too  why  it  is  that  bitter  opposition  subsides  and  one  finds 
himself  at  peace  in  accepting,  just  as  a  moment  before  he  was 
at  war  in  resisting,  the  gospel. 

5.  Psychology  has  made  it  possible  for  us  to  understand 
the  conditions  which  often  accompany  such  conversions,  some 
of  which  are  more  distinctly  psychical,  as  the  instantaneous  re- 
inforcement of  the  will,  the  peace  after  storm,  the  new  light  in 
which  even  the  natural  world  appears,  others  of  which  are  more 
definitely  physical  and  are  concerned  with  bodily  disturbances, 
such  as  visions,  auditions,  shakings,  and  loss  of  muscular  con- 
trol. Professor  Davenport  in  "Primitive  Traits  in  Religious 
Revivals'^  has  introduced  us  to  a  very  large  number  of  such 
experiences  at  different  periods  and  at  widely  separated  regions 
of  the  world.  Such  instances  are  susceptible  of  indefinite  ex- 
tension not  only  in  Christian  but  also  in  non-Christian  lands. 

6.  Psychology  enables  us  to  distinguish  more  accurately 
the  essential  from  the  non-essential  elements  in  conversion.  All 
that  Jonathan  Edwards  has  so  subtly  and  exhaustively  described 
in  his  "Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversions,"  and  his  "Re- 
ligious Affections"  is  still  further  sharpened  and  made  con- 
vincing by  the  aid  of  a  more  thorough  psychological  analysis. 
The  fact  of  a  sudden  or  a  gradually  realized  conversion  is  en- 
tirely indifferent.  Emotion  or  the  lack  of  it,  the  physical  con- 
dition at  the  time,   and  even  unusual  accompaniments   of  the 


16  THE    REGISTER 

new  attitude  are  also  indifferent.  Persons  may  experience  a 
doctrine  or  a  suggested  experience  of  a  given  type,  and  still 
not  have  begun  the  new  life.  One  and  one  thing  only  is  neces- 
sary— the  beginning  of  that  type  of  life  which  Jesus  Christ 
lived,  His  attitude  toward  God,  His  attitude  toward  men.  Not 
all  who  enter  upon  this  life  believe  the  same  things  or  are  con- 
scious of  the  same  ideals,  or  give  expression  to  the  life  in  the 
same  terms  of  conduct.  If  this  new  spirit  now  becomes  "the 
hot  place  in  a  man's  consciousness,  .  .  the  habitual  center 
of  his  personal  energy,"  psychology  pronounces  him  a  Christian, 


THE    EEGISTER  17 

EDUCATIONAL  EVANGELISM. 
Frank  G.  Ward. 

Evangelism  is  concerned  with  the  acceptance  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  as  the  ruling  principle  of  life.  It  calls  for  knowing 
and  for  willing.  These  two  factors  must  be  well  balanced  to 
get  good  results.  Quite  a  number  of  combinations  may  exist  in 
the  relation  of  these  two  phases.  For  example,  one  may  know 
about  the  gospel  and  yet  may  will  not  to  accept  it.  Such  an 
one  makes  us  think  quickly  of  James'  statement,  "To  him  that 
knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin.''  A  good 
deal  of  modern  evangelism  has  been  aimed  at  these  conditions. 
Of  course  there  must  be  a  setting  forth  of  the  gospel-content, 
but  the  main  consideration  is  the  will.  This  is  an  important 
kind  of  evangelism  and  it  calls  for  skill. 

A  second  kind  of  evangelism  is  that  which  puts  an  equal 
emphasis  upon  the  knowing  side  in  order  to  win  folks  to  a 
hearty  acceptance  of  Jesus.  This  may  be  called  educational 
evangelism  in  distinction  from  the  more  generally  accepted 
definition  just  mentioned. 

One  type  of  this  kind  is  the  person  who  wants  to  do  the 
will  of  Jesus  but  who  is  in  the  dark  about  it.  He  does  not 
know  in  any  adequate  way  what  the  gospel  means.  In  many 
instances  the  fog  could  be  quickly  lifted  if  the  truth  were  pre- 
sented in  such  a  fashion  as  to  meet  the  honest  and  reasonable 
questionings.  In  others  cases  a  thorough  study  of  the  Bible  is 
needed  to  give  one  his  bearings  in  matters  of  religion  and 
morality.  We  must  learn  anew  what  it  is  to  love  God  with  the 
mind,  as  a  very  important  part  of  any  sound  evangelism. 

There  are  a  good  many  of  the  above  people  about  today  and 
they  offer  an  inviting  field  to  the  minister  who  is  able  to  meet 
them  sympathetically.  To  go  over  the  ground  with  an  honest 
inquirer  of  this  kind  calls  for  an  open  mind  on  the  part  of  the 
would-be  guide,  who  may  find  in  turn  that  some  of  his  own 
positions  need  to  be  reviewed.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  evan- 
gelists one  to  another  in  the  give  and  take  which  discovers  to 
us  the  gospel  of  our  Lord.  Let  not  the  humble  minister  despise 
such  reciprocity. 

A  second  type  which  calls  for  educational  evangelism  is 
made  up  of  those  who  at  the  outset  know  nothing  about  the 
gospel  and  so  are  not  in  a  position  to  will  anything  about  it. 
Adults  of  this  order  may  be  found  on  some  mission  fields  and 
perhaps  in  isolated  parts  of  what  we  call  Christian  civiliEation. 


18  THE    EEGISTER 

For  our  purpose,  however,  these  are  the  children,  whose  re- 
ligious instincts  are  taken  in  the  bud  and  whose  acceptance  of 
the  gospel  becomes  a  progressive  affair.  The  process  reaches  on 
up  into  the  later  teens,  perhaps,  before  it  is  confirmed  in  char- 
acter, but  it  is  evangelical  from  the  start.  Jesus  makes  obe- 
dience the  first  step  into  the  kingdom  of  God, — and  that  is 
where  the  child  begins.  The  aim  is  to  secure  the  response  ot 
the  will  to  each  new  truth  as  it  comes  to  growth  in  the  indi- 
viduaFs  life.  It  is  the  taking  of  the  kingdom  of  God  by  nur- 
ture and  not  by  violence.  But  the  point  to  be  kept  in  mind 
is  that  the  results  are  just  as  truly  evangelical  as  are  the  re- 
turns of  the  more  dramatic  efforts  in  behalf  of  maturer  life. 
This  "progressive  coming  of  God^s  kingdom,"  to  adapt  a 
phrase  of  Phillips  Brooks,  is  over  hills  and  through  valleys.  The 
slope  up  to  God  is  not  an  even  one.  If  you  will  but  know  it, 
here  is  where  the  graded  lessons  in  our  Sunday-school  program 
are  designed  to  render  invaluable  service.  They  are  more 
thoroughly  evangelical  in  aim  than  the  old  form  of  lessons  ever 
thought  of  being.  It  will  take  a  little  time  for  some  of  us  who 
have  been  dealing  with  the  latter  for  two  score  years  and  more 
to  "catch  on"  to  the  idea.  Let  me  point  out  in  a  few  hundred 
words  what  the  plan  is  driving  at,  and  how  evangelical  it  is. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  well  established  that  in  this  Pil- 
grim^s  Progress  of  Everyman  there  are  peaks  of  promise  where 
the  individual  wants  more  than  at  other  times  to  commit  his 
way  unto  the  Lord.  The  path  from  any  one  of  these  peaks  to 
the  next  higher  one  drops  down  into  a  valley  before  it  begins 
to  rise  again.  It  is  exactly  the  same  thing  that  is  apt  to  happen 
after  a  revival  meeting  when  all  hands  feel  a  sense  of  depression. 
It  is  not  fair  to  blame  the  minister  or  the  Church  for  this  con- 
dition. The  only  way  to  do  is  to  recognize  the  human  nature  in 
it  and  its  part  in  the  program  of  evangelism;  and  to  get  ready 
for  both  the  Mounts  of  Transfiguration  and  also  the  Valleys  of 
Despair,  where  are  the  lunatic  boys,  the  distracted  fathers,  and 
the  unequal  disciples. 

Now,  our  evangelical  Christian  nurture  keeps  the  geography 
of  the  unfolding  life  constantly  in  mind.  When  the  youth  ap- 
proaches one  of  these  peaks  where  he  is  due  to  get  his  vision, 
the  life  of  Jesus  makes  up  the  Sunday-school  lessons  in  such  a 
way  as  to  invite  him  to  take  his  stand  by  the  side  of  the  Master. 
When  the  shadows  of  the  valley  begin  to  fall  across  his  path, 
then  those  parts  of  the  Bible  where  "Duty  whispers  low.  Thou 
must,"  are  drawn  upon  to  give  courage  to  the  faint  heart.  The 
whole  procedure  is  on  the  basis  that  the  Bible  is  made  for  man. 


THE    EEGISTEE  19 

— and  not  man  for  the  Bible,  as  we  sometimes  used  to  think. 
But  is  there  anything  more  evangelical  in  its  spirit,  more  or- 
thodox in  its  attitude  toward  the  Bible,  more  hopeful  in  its 
method,  than  to  make  the  Scripture  a  veritable  revolving  search- 
light to  illume  the  Christ  on  the  Great  Divide  of  everyone's 
life  and  to  hold  one  to  his  way  when  he  walks  for  a  time  in- 
the  shadow  ? 

This,  I  take  it,  is  educational  evangelism.  The  aim  is  to 
reach  the  will  as  fast  as  it  is  due  to  form,  through  Jesus  Christ 
to  set  it  in  right  relations  to  God,  and  to  confirm  it  by  such 
discipline  of  character  as  enables  it  ^'to  suffer  and  be  strong." 


20  THE    REGISTER 


THE  MESSAGE  AND  ITS  DELIVERY. 
OzoEA  B.  Davis. 

"It  was  God's  good  pleasure  through  the  foolishness  of 
the  preaching  to  save  those  who  are  believing/^  wrote  Paul 
to  the  Corinthians.  This  is  the  peculiar  activity  of  the  Chris- 
tian people;  they  have  believed  that  they  have  a  message  to 
deliver,  they  have  bent  all  their  energies  to  proclaim  it,  and 
their  growth  and  prosperity  have  been  in  proportion  to  their 
faithfulness  in  preaching  their  gospel  by  their  words  and 
example. 

Preaching  is  the  major  part  of  the  work  of  Christians  in 
making  their  message  known  to  the  world.  Hence  all  real 
preaching  is  evangelistic,  that  is,  it  is  burdened  with  the  sense 
of  message.  This  message  may  be  designed  to  reach  those  who 
never  have  heard  it  in  any  form,  or  it  may  be  meant  for  those 
who,  already  making  it  their  "way  of  life''  need  fuller  know- 
ledge of  it,  together  with  counsel  and  good  cheer.  In  any  case, 
it  is  evident  that  the  heart  of  all  preaching,  and  the  warrant 
for  it  as  well,  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is  a  message  of  life 
to  be  given  to  the  world. 

Now  this  message  conditions  the  spirit  of  all  real  preach- 
ing. I  do  not  know  a  better  word  to  describe  this  temper  than 
the  term  "passion."  Certain  profound  convictions  and  ex- 
periences lie  under  the  preacher's  mood  as  its  sanction.  These 
must  be  truths  to  which  his  mind  gives  assent,  to  be  sure; 
but  intellectual  conviction  is  not  enough.  The  preacher's 
emotions  must  be  kindled  until  he  burns  with  desire  and  love. 
The  will  must  be  involved,  so  that,  casting  prudent  reserves 
aside,  in  the  spirit  of  the  crusader,  with  the  flaming  torch  as 
his  symbol,  the  preacher  declares  his  message  joyfully,  con- 
fidently and  in  patience  that  is  ready  to  wait  for  deferred 
victory. 

Analyzing  this  temper  a  little  more  closely,  we  find  that 
it  consists  in  a  hot  consciousness  of  the  need,  the  sin,  the  utter 
loss  of  the  world  without  the  message.  Just  as  the  messenger, 
running  with  strength  almost  spent,  with  good  news  from  the 
battle-field  for  the  weary  watchers  in  the  beleaguered  city,  was 
impelled  to  almost  reckless  speed  by  the  thought  of  the  needy, 
waiting  people  longing  for  his  evangel,  so  the  preacher  is  fired 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  world's  sin  and  sorrow  for  whose  par- 
don and  comfort  he  has  a  message.  The  particular  theological 
views  which  the  preacher  holds  regarding  the  nature  and  origin 


THE    EEGISTER  21 

of  evil  are  not  supremely  important.  The  profound  practical 
reaction  of  his  whole  being  to  the  sin  of  the  world  is  what  makes 
him  a  preacher.  Almost  every  night  I  hear  the  half-drunken 
shouting  of  young  men  and  women  debauched  in  the  saloons 
and  dance-halls  of  the  city  and  making  still  more  ghastly  the 
"darkness  of  the  terrible  streets'^;  almost  daily  I  experience 
some  aspect  of  the  wrecking  of  individuals  and  homes  by  al- 
cohol; there  come  beating  in  upon  my  mind  and  heart  fearful 
issues  of  industrial  and  social  injustice.  Unless  these  burn 
my  soul,  unless  they  outrage  me,  unless  they  stir  me  to  wrath, 
I  shall  not  preach.  0,  for  the  strengthening  grace  of  a  great 
passion !  Flaming  hatred  and  great  consuming  love  lie  back 
of  real  preaching.  We  must  react  to  the  evil  thing  with  the 
tierce  fire  of  indignation;  we  must  respond  to  holiness  with 
the  tempered  heat  of  gratitude  and  great  peace.  This  is  an 
activity  that  involves  the  soul  at  its  depths.  The  preacher  knows 
the  meaning  of  this  sentence,  "And  my  wrath  it  upheld  me."' 

The  second  element  in  the  preacher's  passion,  compliment- 
ing the  first,  is  the  conviction  that  he,  and  he  alone,  has  the 
only  message,  the  only  energy,  that  can  purge  the  evil  and  bring 
a  new  divine  life  in  its  place.  An  illustration  of  this  I  saw  when 
Gipsy  Smith  had  led  the  midnight  parade  into  the  vice  district 
of  Chicago  and  had  been  severely  criticised  for  the  action.  In 
speaking  of  the  matter  privately  he  said,  "Some  of  my  brethren 
do  not  approve  of  what  I  have  done,  and  I  am  sorry  to  have  to 
endure  their  censure;  but  I  have  the  only  thing  on  earth  that 
ever  can  make  Chicago's  black  spot  white,  and  I  must  take  it 
there  at  any  cost."  This  is  what  I  mean  by  the  clear,  unyielding 
confidence  that  we,  preachers  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  have  the 
only  power  which  can  bring  redemption  from  sin  and  a  new  life. 
Do  you  believe  that  as  the  Gipsy  did?  Nothing  can  take  its 
place.  There's  a  cancer  case  on  hand;  you  have  the  cure.  Are 
you  urgent?  How  can  you  be  anything  else.  You  stand  in  the 
face  of  the  surging  sins  of  your  generation,  you  front  its  moral 
indifference  and  dismay,  with  the  absolute  knowledge  that,  if 
only  your  message  may  be  given  a  fair  trial,  it  always  will  meet 
the  test  successfully  and  save  men's  souls  with  its  primitive 
power. 

So  far  as  the  substance  of  evangelistic  preaching  is  con- 
cerned, therefore,  it  will  be  filled  with  confident  affirmation,  it 
will  be  positive,  and  it  will  involve  a  large  factor  of  testimony. 
Indeed,  all  preaching  is  witnessing.  This  was  the  outstanding 
fact  in  the  delivery  of  the  message  during  the  first  centuries  of 
Christian  history.     "That  which  we  have  heard,  that  which  we 


22  THE    EEGISTER 

have  seen  with  our  eyes,  that  which  we  beheld,  and  our  hands 
handled,  *  *  declare  we  unto  you."  The  sermon  cannot 
rise  higher  than  the  springs  of  conviction  in  the  preacher.  He 
must  be  dead-in-eamest.  This  will  compensate  for  many  a  fault 
in  the  structure  and  finish  of  his  sermon.  He  is  a  witness  and 
a  herald;  he  knows  and  he  declares. 

As  to  the  form  of  evangelistic  preaching,  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  it  must  be  simple,  concrete,  graphic  and  full  of  such 
counsel  as  will  show  how  the  message  may  be  built  upon  for  the 
new  life.  Let  the  preacher  speak  the  language  of  his  generation. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  be  vulgar  in  order  to  do  this.  The  "lan- 
guage of  Zion"  is  being  displaced  by  other  terms.  Young  people 
know  more  about  what  William  James  has  to  say  as  to  putting 
the  motive  of  Jesus  "at  the  habitual  center  of  energy"  than  they 
do  concerning  the  doctrines  of  grace.  When  we  speak  their 
language  and  put  our  appeal  in  the  form  of  a  challenge  to  do 
possible  and  specific  things,  men  understand  the  message.  It 
must  meet  the  test  of  life,  that  is  all ;  and  the  gospel  without  life 
is  just  nothing  at  all,  for  it  is  for  a  life  that  is  weary  and  dis- 
traught, and  it  creates  a  life  that  is  in  the  likeness  of  the  living 
Christ. 


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